Which came first: The pizza or the bread? A trip out to Anchorage to visit the excellent MozzaPi might recalibrate your thinking on this not-so-simple question. Continue reading MozzaPi brings bread maker’s art to remarkable pizza
Category Archives: BY PRICE FOR TWO
Øskar’s offers a delightful taste of Scandinavia
How is Øskar’s Slider Bar delightfully different from just about every other eatery in town? Uff da! Its light, amusing Scandinavian vibe sets it geographically and culturally apart from all the local restaurants that fake a drawl while frying chicken and simmering grits. Continue reading Øskar’s offers a delightful taste of Scandinavia
Appealing Sarino carries Vincenzo’s DNA, but it’s no clone
Vincenzo and Agostino Gabriele reinvented the Louisville dining scene a generation ago. Now Agostino’s sons, Carmelo and Michael Gabriele, have opened their own Italian restaurant in Germantown, named Sarino after the family nickname for another uncle, Rosario.
Will Sarino be something like Vincenzo’s Jr., then? I’m going to say no. But that’s no slam. Sarino is delightful in its own right, but it is as different from Vincenzo’s as millennials are different from baby boomers and as different as downtown is from Germantown. Continue reading Appealing Sarino carries Vincenzo’s DNA, but it’s no clone
Porcini’s landmark status is well and fully earned
It seems as if Porcini just got here. It seems as if Porcini has been here forever. The truth, as usual, lies between these extremes, but one thing is certain: The years have flown since I first sat down to a fine Italian dinner at this comfortable Frankfort Avenue landmark. Continue reading Porcini’s landmark status is well and fully earned
LouVino and Con Huevos win at brunch
Fresh from delicious brunch experiences at LouVino and Con Huevos, I must ask a simple question: Who doesn’t love brunch? I certainly do!
Some folks love brunch buffets, and there’s a lot to like about a sumptuous feeding trough of pans loaded with breakfast and lunch goodies. But I like a set menu of brunch dishes even better. Sure, I’m down for unleashing my inner glutton at a massive buffet, but my inner foodie recognizes the value of chef-created individual dishes.
Both Con Huevos and LouVino offer thoughtful, inviting selections of brunch dishes that consistently show the delicate, complex but balanced nuances of flavor that reveal serious creative spirit and dogged attention to detail in the kitchen. Continue reading LouVino and Con Huevos win at brunch
Cozy lunches at Old Louisville Tavern and bar Vetti warm our icy bones
Well, 2018 sure came in with a “Brrrr!” The temperature didn’t rise above freezing for a week, and relief took its sweet time coming. When the air makes my face hurt, my instinct is to keep the doors shut and hole up at home with the thermostat cranked up to high.
When hunger and cabin fever set in, though, and the urge to get out in the world becomes irresistible, I can hardly think of a better cold-weather destination than the friendly confines of a cozy bar and grill that takes its commitment to good food as seriously as its beverages. Continue reading Cozy lunches at Old Louisville Tavern and bar Vetti warm our icy bones
All aboard on Mi Sueño Cuban Express
For a few brief, joyous moments of federal sanity last year, it seemed we were going to be friends with Cuba again. Thanks, Obama! But now the new boss has taken Cuba off the table for now. Thanks a lot, Donnie.
But if we can’t easily go to Cuba, it seems that Cuba is coming to Louisville. Cuban immigration to Louisville accelerated so fast in the past decade that the local diaspora has attracted national media attention. Continue reading All aboard on Mi Sueño Cuban Express
The Impossible Burger at Morels Cafe. Yeah, it’s impossible.
You’ve probably heard of the Impossible Burger, the heavily capitalized, much publicized meat-free burger that’s so much like the real thing that you can cook it rare and watch it bleed. It’s not animal blood, of course, but a soybean protein called leghemoglobin, “heme” for short, plant-based cousin to animal hemoglobin. Continue reading The Impossible Burger at Morels Cafe. Yeah, it’s impossible.
bar Vetti lights up 800 Building
Who knew that a hot new eatery would bring Louisville rushing back to the old 800 Building? Old-timers might consider this unlikely, but the delightful bar Vetti (management prefers the lowercase “bar”) fits nicely in the renovated turquoise tower. Continue reading bar Vetti lights up 800 Building
Hull & High Water’s oysters inspire hymns of praise
When we headed over to the new Hull & High Water the other evening, our friend Don said he was afraid he would be a pretty tough judge. Just back home from a conference in Boston, he had taken advantage of the opportunity to sample some of Beantown’s finest oysters and fish.
A half-hour later, though, he was singing a different tune, and Mary and I and our friend Anne were joining the hymn of praise in four-part harmony. Continue reading Hull & High Water’s oysters inspire hymns of praise